| U3AC walks | U3AC walk - Christs Pieces |
Route: Bridge St, Jordans Yard, Round Church St, Park Street, Jesus Lane, Malcolm Street, King Street, passage to Christs Pieces, across Christs Pieces, Christs Lane, through Lion Yard, Fisher Square, Guildhall Street, Petty Cury, Sidney Street, Market Street, Market Passage
Length: 1.28 miles Start Quayside - Finish Market Passage
Introduction: The first walk covered the passages of the west city centre, off the Saxon road. This walk deals with the lanes and passages of the east city centre, off the Roman road. On the way, we visit Christs Pieces.
Click on photos for a larger version.
On the Roman Road. Since this is a continuation of Castle Street, several of these buildings are old, although naturally they have been altered from time to time.
29 Bridge Street (Typically British) is listed grade II. It is C16 or C17, but much altered in the C19. U3AC premises, on the other hand, are modern!
25-26 Bridge Street (Kobe) is listed grade II. This is C16.
15-16 Bridge St is listed grade II. This is early C16. Jordan's Yard goes through the centre of this building.
The yards were small areas off the main street. Jordan Yard has survived and recently been reopened. Turn down it. Off to the right, there is some old lifting machinery.
The Union Society is listed grade II. It was built in 1866. The Cambridge Union is a debating society. U3AC has held lectures here. On the modern part, there is a nice quote by Douglas Adams, who wrote Hitchikers Guide to the Universe (and went to St Johns): "I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I needed to be."
5-10 Park Street are listed grade II. They were built 1830.
Little Trinity is listed grade I, and the gates in front are listed as well. It was built around 1725, which makes it early Georgian. It is not owned by Trinity!
Above the gate of Little Trinity, there is a small creature, possibly a dinosaur! I don't know anything about this. It just appeared at some point.
This back gate of Sidney Sussex College was erected in 1749 as the main entrance to the College in Sidney Street, but removed here in 1831. It is listed grade II.
Wesley House has an attractive new gate, with an engraved glass area behind. Wesley House is a theological college.
Malcolm St is listed grade II. These were built around 1842. These were built as student accomodation. The landlord lived in the basement, with its own entrance. Malcolm Street is named after Malcolm IV of Scotland, a benefactor or possibly founder of St Rhadegund's nunnery, built in 1130s. The site, and some of the buildings, were taken over by Jesus College.
Turn right into King St, then left into King St.
King Street is nothing to do with Kings Parade, or Kings College. The Kings Ditch used to be round here.
Off to the right, there is a modern gatehouse, built in 1993. This is a back door to Christs college. It has animal carvings by Tim Crawley.
66 King St is listed grade II. It is C18.
The Champion of the Thames is grade II. It is also C18. The sign says "This HOUSE is dedicated towards those splendid FELLOWS who make DRINKING a pleasure, who reach CONTENTMENT before CAPACITY and who, whatever the DRINK, can take it, hold it, enjoy it, and STILL remain GENTLEMEN". Another pub is this street is called the King Street Run. This was a pub crawl, drinking a pint of beer in every pub in King Street.
By this pub, there is an alleyway leading to Miltons Walk, in Christs Pieces.
Jakenett's Almshouses are listed grade II. They were built in 1790. The plaque says "Thomas Jakenett formerly a Burgefs of this town and Agnes his wife Founded an Almfhoufe in the reign of Edw. the 4th 1469, on the South fide in Gt. St. Mary Church-Yard, which was taken down in confequence of an Act of Parliament being granted for Paving and lighting the town of Cambridge, and was rebuilt in this fpot in the year 1790 at the joint expence of the Univerfity and the Inhabitants of Gt. St. Mary's Parifh."
There are almshouses on the other side of the road too. Some people think that the women who lived in these almshouses were responsible for the street name "Maids Causeway".
Turn down the passage after the almshouses. This is called Pikes Walk.
Despite what the name suggests and its proximity, Christ's College never owned the Piece. It was owned by Jesus College. Early maps show that it was a field growing corn. They also show the north south paths now known as Miltons Walk and Pikes Walk. By 1815 proposals to enclose this land failed, and so it was sold to the town in 1886 for the purpose of recreation. The land has been used as a public open space ever since.
Christs Pieces has avenues of lime trees. The lime, also known as linden, is an ancient English tree. It has a distinctive leaf shape, rounded but with a point. It is not connected to the citrus lime at all. This avenue was probably planted around 1886-96, just after the land had been given to the city council (or Corporation, as it was then known).
This rose garden, in the centre of Christs Pieces, commemorates Diana, Princess of Wales. The rose trellis is the middle is the shape of a crown. Elton John's song after Diana's death started "Goodbye, England's Rose".
Christs Pieces used to have very formal planting, replanted each year. Now the formal beds have wild flowers instead.
Along the edge of Chstists Pieces, next to Christs college wall, there is a path called Milton's Walk. On the Tudor map by Richard Lyne (1574), it's called Christs College Walk, but that predates Milton! It ends up at Christs Lane.
Christs Lane was on a map of Cambridge of 1574. Later, it got blocked off when modern developement was built. A few years ago, it was reopened. I would describe it as useful rather than attractive, but it might improve with time. The council has recently installed some art benches, with artists work featured in the panels.
St Andrews the Great church is listed Grade II. It was rebuilt in 1843. There's a memorial inside to Captain Cook and his family from the previous church.
This shopping mall is paved with a stone that contains fossils. There is an ammonite in front of the escalator up to the library.
Walk down the passage by the side of the escalator
This sculpture called Between the Lines. Installed in 2007, it is made of granite, and is by Peter Randall-Page. Fisher Square is an attractive place to sit in the sun, eating lunch!
Fisher House houses the Cambridge University Catholic Chaplaincy. It is late Cl6 / early Cl7, and is grade II.
John Fisher (1469-1535) was an English Catholic prelate who served as chancellor of the University of Cambridge. He is honoured as a martyr and saint by the Catholic Church. Fisher was executed by order of Henry VIII during the English Reformation for refusing to accept him as Supreme Head of the Church of England and for upholding the Catholic Church's doctrine of papal supremacy and the independence of the Church from control by the State. Cambridge University is perhaps better known for its Protestant martyrs (Cramner, Latimer and Ridley, burnt in Oxford, but coming from Cambridge), its Protestant colleges, such as Emmanuel, and, of course, Oliver Cromwell, who went to Sidney Sussex college, and was Cambridge MP. But then Cambridge believes in necessary balance!
This bronze statue is called Talos. The date given for it is 1950, but it was put in its current position in 1973. It has a plaque which says "Talos: Legendary man of bronze was guardian of Minoan Crete, the first civilisation of Europe. Sculptor, Michael Ayrton"
Snowy Farr was a greatly loved character of Cambridge, who collected money for the Guide Dogs for the Blind Association. He wore a red uniform and top hat, and had a magnificent white beard. He had a small cart, with animals, and his cat used to sit on top of his hat, while mice ran round the rim. When he died in 2007, it was decided to have an artwork commemorating him. Here it is. It is called Snowy, by Gary Webb, and was unveiled in 2012.
The market has one of the very few Grade I domestic buildings in Cambridge. This is 5 Market Hill, on the east side of the market place. It was built in 1688. The front is hung with tiles, and there is a doorway leading onto the balcony on the first floor, with a shell hood.
Petty Cury is among the oldest street names in Cambridge. It means "Little cooks street". Unfortunately, most of the buildings aren't particularly old. One is: 32-33, Petty Cury, the only listed building, grade II. It is C16 in origin. Note thje jetty!
Lloyd's Bank is listed grade II*. It was built in 1891, in a Dutch Renaissance style. It is decorated with various animals, including a squirrel.
There is a passageway leading off St Andrews Street, to Marks and Spencers. It seems to be another passage round a church, Holy Trinity, but it's also a useful short cut!
Holy Trinity is listed grade II*. It is C14-C15 with later phases.
Henry Martyn Hall is a grade II Victorian building, dated 1887. It has this splendid drain cover.
A shortcut, avoiding traffic. It does have a plaque about Oliver Cromwell.
"Oliver Cromwell 1599-1658 - MP for Cambridge, Lord Protector of the British republic. At the Black Bear Inn, which stood on this site, Cromwell met with the Eastern Association to plan the Parliamentarian war effort in this region."
© Jo Edkins 2025 - Return to Walks index